Property tax increases crushing many homeowners’ budgets spurred the Republican-run Ohio House to pass two partial but potentially promising remedies on Oct. 22 .

Do Substitute House Bills 186 and 335 , passed with “yes” votes from some Democrats, lighten the burdens of all hard-pressed homeowners? No: In most Cuyahoga County school districts, for instance, homeowners won’t see significant savings. And is it a complete coincidence Republicans slighted homeowners in a heavily Democratic county? To ask that is to answer it.

Still, the House’s willingness to address, not duck, politically radioactive property-tax questions may stoke broader base-line reforms -- crafted amid Senate debate -- that could benefit many taxpayers without further crimping public schools.

HB 186 passed 73-2

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